{"id":977114,"date":"2026-08-03T04:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T04:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/977114\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T04:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T04:23:19","slug":"toll-price-reductions-set-for-multiple-sydney-motorways-including-lane-cove-tunnel-and-m2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/977114\/","title":{"rendered":"Toll price reductions set for multiple Sydney motorways including Lane Cove Tunnel and M2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toll prices will be lowered on Sydney motorways including, the Lane Cove Tunnel, M2, and Cross City Tunnel, but neither WestConnex nor NorthConnex will be included.<\/p>\n

The reductions were announced as part of the state government’s long-awaited plan to shake up the city’s toll road pricing, which followed years of negotiations with private operators.<\/p>\n

From July 1, 2027, Lane Cove Tunnel tolls will reduce by 10 per cent, as will M2 tolls for motorists travelling longer distances.<\/p>\n

The M7 distance cap will reduce by 10 per cent from January 1, 2028, meaning more drivers will benefit, but that is dependent on the government agreeing to fund an $850 million widening of the M2 and M7.<\/p>\n

There will be a 20 per cent reduction in Cross City Tunnel tolls when the Western Harbour Tunnel opens in 2028.<\/p>\n

And motorcyclists will get a 50 per cent reduction on all motorways, progressively from July 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

NSW Transport Minister John Graham acknowledged the price reductions were not huge, but he believed they would still be welcomed by drivers.<\/p>\n

“They are modest falls, but [tolls have] never gone down before. And the benefits will be felt for decades,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

John Graham believes the price reductions will be welcomed by motorists. (ABC News: Nick Dole)<\/p>\n

Two-way tolling<\/p>\n

In 2028, drivers on the Eastern Distributor will pay tolls in both directions.<\/p>\n

However, the toll price for each direction will be set at 53 per cent of the northbound toll.<\/p>\n

It means drivers will not have to pay double the current cost for a return journey, but they will still pay more.<\/p>\n

The government previously announced the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel would be tolled in both directions, if it won the next election.<\/p>\n

However, future toll increases on those government-owned toll roads will be 3.25 per cent, instead of the planned increase of 4 per cent.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

The Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel will be tolled in both directions, if Labor wins the next state election. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)<\/p>\n

WestConnex in the ‘too hard basket’<\/p>\n

The government was not able to negotiate a price reduction on one of the city’s most significant toll roads, WestConnex, which is operated by Transurban.<\/p>\n

“<\/strong>That toll agreement was simply too long, too big, too complex to get a good deal for taxpayers and for toll payers,” Mr Graham said.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t possible to make that part of the deal.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The agreement differs significantly from the recommendations of the toll review, prepared by Allan Fels and David Cousins.<\/p>\n

Professor Fels and Dr Cousins recommended measures like declining distance-based tolling, whereby motorists who travel long distances pay a reduced rate per kilometre.<\/p>\n

They also recommended ending toll relief in its current form, in favour of a fairer pricing structure across the board.<\/p>\n

\"white<\/p>\n

The state government had been planning to shake up the city’s toll road pricing. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

With the government unable to negotiate network-wide price reductions, it has opted to keep the weekly toll cap in place.<\/p>\n

Currently, tolls are capped at $50 per week for private motorists, but they have to claim a refund from the government.<\/p>\n

Shadow Roads Minister Natalie Ward said the government was trying to sell voters a “lemon”.<\/p>\n

“They’ve spent three-and-a half years promising to [deliver] toll reform.<\/p>\n

There’s been a lot of talk and this is a half-done job, which, frankly, is disappointing.”<\/p>\n

The opposition said by its analysis, the price reductions would only cover 40 per cent of toll road trips.<\/p>\n

\"Natalie<\/p>\n

Natalie Ward says the government is trying to sell voters a “lemon”. (ABC News: Justin Huntsdale)<\/p>\n

Who pays?<\/p>\n

According to the government, the newly-announced price reductions will cost the budget $143 million over five years.<\/p>\n

The M7 price reductions are dependent on the government tipping in $850 million to widen the M7 and M2.<\/p>\n

Private toll road operators have agreed to contribute $75 million over five years to continue the weekly toll cap, but they also benefit from that cap due to increased patronage.<\/p>\n

The bulk of the toll cap will be funded through two-way tolling of existing roads.<\/p>\n

Premier Chris Minns said the government was not willing to extend the contracts of private operators to help fund the toll reductions.<\/p>\n

“<\/strong>We haven’t compromised on the length of time these concessions are owned and operated by the private toll road companies,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So when they do fall out of contract, they can be owned and operated by New South Wales taxpayers.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toll prices will be lowered on Sydney motorways including, the Lane Cove Tunnel, M2, and Cross City Tunnel,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":977115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,392156,392164,72224,392165,392155,265973,392167,392168,50,392157,5326,392169,392166,392162,392161,392160,392158,392159,392163,197494,197493],"class_list":["post-977114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-australia","tag-cross-city-tunnel","tag-eastern-distributor","tag-harbour-bridge","tag-harbour-tunnel","tag-lane-cove-tunnel","tag-m2","tag-natalie-ward","tag-new-south-wales-taxpayers","tag-news","tag-northconnex","tag-nsw-government","tag-premier-chris-minns","tag-shadow-roads-minister","tag-sydney-toll-price-changes","tag-sydney-toll-prices","tag-sydney-tolls","tag-toll-price-lowered","tag-toll-price-reductions","tag-transport-minister-john-graham","tag-transurban","tag-westconnex"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117029674115155342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/977114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=977114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/977114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/977115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=977114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=977114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=977114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}